A thought for the Day

[Dan Murphy]

Like bathing, I must daily exercise my freedom. No one can do it for me.

Elaine, so true indeed.


In thy face I see the map of honor, truth, and loyalty.
—William Shakespeare

People choose their mates for many reasons—the irresistible twinkle in a young man's eye, the graceful curve of a woman's ankle, escape from home, to have a home, financial support, convenience—you name it. But to stay alive, a relationship has to have something else, something more basic going for it. It has to have trust.

Bedrock trust means that we know the other person is in our corner, reliably there for us no matter what. It means that in significant ways, they are "present" to us. If they are not, no matter how much we think we need them or how desperately we want the relationship to work, no trust equals no satisfaction.

Until the other proves trustworthy (beyond promises and good intentions) something in us holds back. Some aspects of the relationship may well be terrific, but the lasting test is always, "Can I trust them?"

--Days of Healing Days of Joy

 

[helenabear]

What is strength without a double share of wisdom? Vast, unwieldy, burdensome, proudly secure, yet liable to fall.
—John Milton

What do we mean when we say someone is strong? That they have big muscles? Can endure anything without getting tired, let alone giving up? Do strong people never bend? Never break?

Some of us are afraid to show weakness of any kind. We take our supposed strength as the central fact of our lives. Over time, we may even come to think of ourselves as indestructible. We imagine that everything—people, places, and things—can be pounded into place if we come on with enough force. One man at a meeting shared that he had been confined to a hospital bed after a serious heart attack. Since he had been forbidden exertion of any kind, he said he made himself get out of bed, walk across the room, and pick up a scrap of paper from the floor. Just to prove that he could, he said.

Many of us are more like this man than we care to admit. May we, like him, become willing to accept our strength as our weakness, if that is the case.

Today, let me accept my very real and human limitations.

--- Days of Healing Days of Joy

 

[EROS]

"Freethinkers are convinced that religious claims have not withstood the tests of reason. Not only is there nothing to be gained by believing an untruth, but there is everything to lose when we sacrifice the indispensable tool of reason on the altar of superstition. Church teachings are sexist, judgmental, arrogant, inconsistent, filled with authoritative explanation rather than rational explanation and are therefore not conducive to learning a good life philosophy."

 

[Dan Murphy]

So true, Elaine, some do attempt to show strength, when in fact, they are so very weak.

We imagine that everything—people, places, and things—can be pounded into place if we come on with enough force.

So very true.


Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our spirituality doesn't reveal itself only when we pray, meditate, or go to church. The implications of spirituality are much wider and deeper than that. Nearly everything we do is a reflection of the presence or absence of a spiritual dimension in our lives.

"How much is enough?" is a primary spiritual question. If we are not enough, all the food, drugs, or material goods in the world can never be enough. A sense of worthiness is a sign of the spirit. "Where is my security based?" is another primary spiritual question. If my security is based on status or the approval of the crowd, this is also a statement about my spirituality. We act out our spirituality when we smile and pat people on the back or gossip and tell racist jokes.

Our spirituality defines us. We don't need to tell anyone how spiritual we are — if they're hanging around us, they already know.

 

[EROS]

"Freethinkers realize that there are thousands of differing religious belief structures which are more or less mutually exclusive and for the uncritical mind equally believable. Some of these belief structures do not involve deities. The major point being which one? And if one, why one? Why any, isn't it just as likely that all of them have it wrong? Much of the work of religion seems to be based on guesswork or pure creativity. The age of the Earth, the age of **** sapiens, history as it happened over the thousands of years seem to differ from religion to religion and, most importantly, differ from the objective findings of archeologists, geologists, biologists etc."

 

[helenabear]

I just had to add my own personal thoughts right now, so please excuse me while I go rambling on for a short while.

Something this morning made me really upset, to the point where I was in an almost rage and near tears. I began to calm down only when I looked at my two cats sitting on the love seat looking out the window. They reminded me of something very important… some things in life are too precious to worry about. The things in my life I love are too important to me to sit and dwell on the insignificants in life. All who love me do so because they love me for ME… the good and the bad. Those who love me and whom I love back are my support, my comfort and my everything. They are the ones who get my through my toughest and are there to share in the joys of life.

Love guides me. I think and feel with all my heart. My tag even says that, although it is in Spanish, “with all my heart” is the way I live my life. I do not just wander aimlessly through life and take anything said or placed in front of me as golden. I listen to my heart, feel what is right for me and follow it. My heart doesn’t lead me astray as it is guided by love… love from so many different sources both visible and invisible to me. Only my mind leads me astray. So as I sit here and think of all who are struggling with anything in their lives, I say let go and follow your heart, it will lead you in the right direction.

 

[Buckalew]

Helenabear,
You shared for a reason. Thanks so much.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Thanks for those nice thoughts there, Elaine.

It is an old and ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way.

— Rollo May

Our boundaries are both inside and outside ourselves. No one can set them for us; we can only set them. Boundaries are often unfamiliar. We may wonder, What are they? How do we use them? Many of us come from families where, as children, our boundaries were disregarded, creating a pattern we continue to act on as adults.

Starting to set boundaries for ourselves takes time and practice. Because the experience is unfamiliar, we may often find ourselves veering between two extremes —holding back for fear of blurring our boundaries or acting as if we have no boundaries at all. But our willingness to set boundaries and stick with them brings us a clearer sense of who we are. We begin to learn where we start and end. We start to learn the same about other people. With boundaries comes a new sense of self-respect because they are our affirmation to ourselves that we are not objects to be trampled on or used, but we are human beings with dignity.

---Answers In The Heart

 

[Dan Murphy]

I spent twenty years before someone told me I could cut my losses.
—Michael K.

If we were thinking about spending a huge amount of money on a big house, you can bet we'd check first to see if the roof leaked or the basement flooded. We tend to be very careful about making major investments—and with good reason. Most of us just can't afford to make a big mistake. Why, then, do so many of us jump so carelessly into relationships?

Before committing ourselves to a large emotional investment, we can examine the total "package." We have every right to look very closely at a prospective relationship, to check it out, and to make a clear-eyed determination. Is the big draw that they "need" us? Beware. Is the person free, in fact, to be part of a relationship? Can the person function as a responsible adult? Is the person as committed to personal growth as we are?

If the relationship is healthy and growth-oriented, we need hesitate no longer. We can enter it knowing our optimism comes from positive, not negative, motives.

---Days of Healing Days of Joy

 

[helenabear]

Brenda and Dan, I am glad you enjoyed my rambles

Also Dan, I very much like the words you found for yesterday/today.

I'm in a sentimental mood, but I hope everyone will remember to always hold dear to your heart those you love.

There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer;
no disease that enough love will not heal;
no door that enough love will not open;
no gulf that enough love will not bridge;
no wall that enough love will not throw down;
no sin that enough love will not redeem...
It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble;
how hopeless the outlook; how muddled the tangle; how great the mistake.
A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all.
If only you could love enough you would be
the happiest and most powerful being in the world...
~Emmet Fox

 

[Dan Murphy]

Integrity

Anything that stands in the way of your integrity will eventually bring you down. If you feel that something isn't right, there's a reason for that feeling -- it's because it isn't right.
When you act against what you know to be true, what you know to be right, there is nothing of value to be gained. When you act against your own integrity, you are pushing yourself backwards.

If you seek to cheat others, you end up cheating yourself. Nothing that you take away from someone else can ever be of any lasting value to you. True value and richness come from authentically being yourself and giving of yourself. The more you give of your love, your effort, your time, attention, and creativity, the more real and fulfilling abundance you'll experience.

Withholding yourself from life only holds you back from really living. It's truly great to be who you are, so do it with zest and integrity. Why fight and argue over momentary pleasures when you can be moving toward lasting fulfillment? Choose not what is easiest or most expedient. Choose what is true, what is right, and you'll be making the best choice for your life.

-- Ralph Marston

 

[Dan Murphy]

Problems are opportunities for growth. They let us
experience the wisdom of other people when we ask
for help. They assure us a better connection to our
Higher Power if we want it. And they give us
chances to practice inner silence and find the place
where all answers ultimately reside. Going within
offers us profound calm, the love and the secure
comfort of our Higher Power. Until we have
sampled that gift, we can't fathom what we have
missed in life. Acknowledging the presence of God
changes every situation we encounter. It changes
every detail of every day.

Let's not fear problems. Instead, let's see them as
mere reminders that we have forgotten to remember
the presence of our Higher Power. Taking a few
moments to travel within will bring us clarity and
comfort. Peace will come along with the problem's
resolution.

---A Life of My Own by Karen Casey

 

[EROS]

The History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less

"Quantum fluctuation. Inflation. Expansion. Strong nuclear interaction. Particle-antiparticle annihilation. Deuterium and helium production. Density perturbations. Recombination. Blackbody radiation. Local contraction. Cluster formation. Reionization? Violent relaxation. Virialization. Biased galaxy formation? Turbulent fragmentation. Contraction. Ionization. Compression. Opaque hydrogen. Massive star formation. Deuterium ignition. Hydrogen fusion. Hydrogen depletion. Core contraction. Envelope expansion. Helium fusion. Carbon, oxygen, and silicon fusion. Iron production. Implosion. Supernova explosion. Metals injection. Star formation. Supernova explosions. Star formation. Condensation. Planetesimal accretion. Planetary differentiation. Crust solidification. Volatile gas expulsion. Water condensation. Water dissociation. Ozone production. Ultraviolet absorption. Photosynthetic unicellular organisms. Oxidation. Mutation. Natural selection and evolution. Respiration. Cell differentiation. Sexual reproduction. Fossilization. Land exploration. Dinosaur extinction. Mammal expansion. Glaciation. **** sapiens manifestation. Animal domestication. Food surplus production. Civilization! Innovation. Exploration. Religion. Warring nations. Empire creation and destruction. Exploration. Colonization. Taxation without representation. Revolution. Constitution. Election. Expansion. Industrialization. Rebellion. Emancipation Proclamation. Invention. Mass production. Urbanization. Immigration. World conflagration. League of Nations. Suffrage extension. Depression. World conflagration. Fission explosions. United Nations. Space exploration. Assassinations. Lunar excursions. Resignation. Computerization. World Trade Organization. Terrorism. Internet expansion. Reunification. Dissolution. World-Wide Web creation. Composition. Extrapolation?"

 

[helenabear]

The person who is bored in the modern world shows that he is in no full sense a member of it.
— Brand Blanshard

Enthusiasm doesn't just happen to us. It's an attitude that is either fostered or hindered by our decisions about what we'll bring to our experiences—from the most mundane to the momentous. This is true either throughout the day at hand or throughout our life. Deciding to be enthusiastic for a project comes easily when we've made up our mind to simply enjoy being alive.

Gratitude for the many blessings that recovery has brought even further heightens our enthusiasm for living. We all know people who are bored with their jobs, who withdraw from social involvement. Most of these people have lost touch with their fundamental sense of gratitude for what life has given them.

The power to enjoy life fully, to bring enthusiasm to whatever we do, is within our grasp. In fact, it's within our own mind.

I'll be as enthusiastic as I am grateful today.

--- In God's Care

 

[Dan Murphy]

Enthusiasm, Elaine, especially for good, is so contagious. Nice.



Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.


--Roosevelt, Eleanor

 

[helenabear]

Originally posted by Dan Murphy
Enthusiasm, Elaine, especially for good, is so contagious. Nice.

I've noticed that to be very true

Very nice thought for the day Dan... I really like that one a lot!

 

[EROS]

A Christian evangelist driving down a Virginia turnpike is pulled over for speeding. The trooper smells alcohol in the vehicle and sees an empty wine bottle on the floor.

The officer asks the cleric: "Have you been drinking, sir?"

"Only water, officer," the minister says.

"Then why do I distinctly smell wine in your car?

The minister looks at the bottle and says, "Good Lord! He's done it again!"

 

[helenabear]

Yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
--- unknown

 

[Hemi-mom]

Breathe Deep, by The Lost Dogs

"Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God. Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God."

Politicians, morticians, Philistines, homophobes
Skinheads, Dead heads, tax evaders, street kids
Alcoholics, workaholics, wise guys, dim wits
Blue collar, white collars, war mongers, peace nicks...

"Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God. Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God."

Suicidals, rock idols, shut-ins, drop-outs
Friendless, homeless, penniless and depressed
Presidents, residents, foreigners and aliens
Dissidents, feminists, xenophobes and chauvinists...

"Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God. Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God."

Evolutionists, creationists, perverts, slum lords
Dead-beats, athletes, Protestants and Catholics
Housewives, neophytes, pro-choice, pro-life
Misogynists, monogamists, philanthropists, blacks and whites...

"Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God. Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God."

Police, obese, lawyers, and government
Sex offenders, tax collectors, war vets, rejects
Atheists, Scientists, racists, sadists
Photographers, biographers, artists, pornographers...

"Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God. Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God."

Gays and lesbians, demagogues and thespians
The disabled, preachers, doctors and teachers
Meat eaters, wife beaters, judges and juries
Long hair, no hair, EVERYBODY, EVERYWHERE...

"Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God. Breathe deep, Breathe deep the breath of God."

 

[helenabear]

Great lyrics there Jilly... thanks so much for them